Trial by Fire
by DragonScouter
Summary: Join ten year old Lizzie Val as she starts her journey through the Hoenn region. On her journey, she will make many friends, and enemies, and she will have to prepare herself for the challenges that will test her friendships, nature, and her courage. Happens during the time that Ash is getting Pikachu and starting his adventure in Kanto. Rated because I am paranoid.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Wow, it's been a while since I have written for this.**

**...**

**Authoress: Oh yeah, have to wait until the end of the chapter for feedback.**

* * *

**AN: Lizzie looks like a younger version of the girl starter from Black and White mainly, though some things are slightly changed about her appearance. Mandy looks like an older version of the girl starter from Leaf Green, and Bruce looks like an older version of the guy starter from Ruby.**

* * *

Prologue

**Mandy Val's 3rd P.O.V.**

"Now Lizzie, don't wander off too far. I don't want you getting hurt!" Mandy Val yelled after her five year old daughter as she headed to the pasture to play with her pokémon. Being a breeder meant that Mandy had many pokémon, though not all hers, for her daughter to play with. Mandy knew that Lizzie loved the pokémon and that all of Mandy's pokémon loved her.

Mandy glanced at the direction her daughter ran off to and smiled. Lizzie was so much like her father Bruce. Bruce was a backup member of the Elite Four, meaning if one of the Four wasn't there, Bruce would take their place until they returned. He loved to play with pokémon whenever they would allow him, captured or otherwise.

Of course, Mandy herself loved pokémon as well, though she didn't have many herself. She had her Arcanine, Pidgeot, and her starter pokémon Venasaur. Yes, even though she lived in the Hoenn region, she grew up in Kanto. She had started her adventure when she was ten and set out to learn as much about being a breeder as she could. She traveled through Kanto and after she was done, she came to Hoenn to see what else she could learn.

When she arrived, she met a young boy who was just starting his adventure with his starter pokémon, who she learned was called a Mudkip. His name was Bruce. The two of them decided to travel together and they became close friends. Mandy would travel with him as he challenged and defeated the gym leaders and he would go around town with her so she could learn everything about being a breeder. After traveling through Hoenn, the two continued to travel to many regions and continue on getting their dreams made.

After years of traveling, Bruce asked Mandy to marry him and she had said yes. They got married in Hoenn and, to put it mildly, it was one of the largest weddings of the century. Everyone that they had ever met had arrived. Gym leaders, Elite Four members, Champions, friends, family, and even wild pokémon from all the regions they visited who could make it. Plus, all of the media and fans that wanted to see their wedding. The wedding was beautiful and after that, they decided to live in Hoenn after Bruce had gotten the invitation to be a backup member for the Hoenn Elite Four.

They had Lizzie soon after and she was one of the treasures of their lives. She was pretty intelligent for a kid. She was walking by age one and when she was two, she was starting to say the basic words. Whenever Mandy and Bruce wanted to go out, they knew that they could leave Lizzie home with their pokémon. Lizzie would love to climb around Arcanine and, when it was summer, all of the pokémon would take Lizzie to the ranch's pond and Swampert would take her on rides across the pond and he even taught her how to swim properly. Then at night, if Mandy and Bruce weren't home, Venasaur would sometimes allow Lizzie to sleep on his flower until Mandy got home to put Lizzie to bed.

Mandy smiled and sat down on the porch swing next to her husband's Linoone. She smiled at Linoone and said, "Today is a nice day." Linoone responded by laying her head on Mandy's lap. Mandy smiled and stared out at the pokémon running on the ranch.

**Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.**

I ran down the slope toward the Mightyena pack that would normally hang around. When I saw them, I waved as I grew closer to them. The alpha Mightyena glanced up and walked up to me. He was my best friend. When I got up to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a hug while he laid his head on my shoulder. If anyone who didn't know me saw me go up to the Mightyena, they would have had a panic attack since these Mightyena were wild. But, the wild pokémon around here trusted my family, the Val family, since my mom would heal them when they came to her.

"Hey Mightyena, what do you want to play today?" I asked. Of course, I didn't expect a vocal answer back that I could understand.

The Mightyena laid down and I knew that it just wanted to take a small walk. Nodding, I smiled and said, "Ok, let's go. I want to see more pokémon!"

The leader barked something at its pack and then it crouched down enough for me to hop on. Once I did, the two of us then walked through the woods. Normally, I wouldn't go into the woods because I knew that not all pokémon were as nice as the ones I had met so far. I only felt safe here without mom and dad because I knew that Mightyena would protect me.

A sound coming from up ahead caused me to jump. "Hey Mightyena, hang on. I thought I heard something." I said suddenly. Mightyena stopped and twitched its ears so we both could both listen better. After a minute and no other sounds, I thought I was just hearing things and was about to tell Mightyena to keep going when I heard it again. A pokémon's cry rang through the woods. Glancing at Mightyena, I said, "Let's go check it out. The pokémon could be hurt!"

Mightyena nodded and I had to hang on tightly as he ran through the woods toward the sound. After a few minutes of traveling, Mightyena slowed and both of us listened for the pokémon again. This time, when I heard it, I could tell that it was extremely close. Since I figured that we didn't have far to travel, I hopped down off of Mightyena and started forward. Mightyena whined with worry for me but I said, "I'll be fine. Are you coming or are you going to let me go off on my own?" Mightyena seemed to think about that before walking next to me. I searched through the bushes on the right and Mightyena searched the ones on the left while we continued to watch in front of us, just in case it was up ahead.

After about three minutes of searching and getting closer to the cries, I thought that I was pretty close. When I stopped in front of a large bush I could tell that the pokémon was near the bush. I took a step into the grass in front of the bush when I slipped and started to fall down a hidden slope.

I screamed as I fell. I was scared. I was going to get in trouble. But, I wasn't surprised to see Mightyena sliding next to me when I got about halfway down the slope. So, I grabbed onto him and about three seconds later, the two of us landed safely at the bottom. Though when we stood up, I saw that we were both covered in dust and grass stains. It would have been a funny sight.

But, a scared cry drew my attention to in front of me and I saw what was causing the distress cries. Laying in the middle of the ditch, dirty and covered with many bumps and scrapes, was an injured Ralts. Knowing that pokémon were scared when they were hurt, I walked slowly toward it. When I got within three feet of it, the Ralts noticed me and let out a small growl and I stopped where I was. The growl caused Mightyena to walk forward but I motioned for him to stay back. The Ralts was scared and I knew that Mightyena could be scary even when he didn't want to. I then knelt to the ground and said, "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you Ralts. My mommy is a breeder and she can help fix you. Can I come closer?"

The Ralts stared at me for the longest time before slowly nodding its head. I smiled and slowly crawled to kneel in front of the Ralts and asked, "I am going to have to take you to mommy. Can I pick you up?" The Ralts again nodded so I carefully picked it up, trying to avoid its injuries, and walked over to Mightyena. At the sight of Mightyena, the Ralts started to fidget around in my arms. Knowing that I needed to reassure it quickly, I said, "Don't worry Ralts, Mightyena is my friend and he is going to take us to my mommy faster so she can get you all better."

Ralts calmed down after that and so Mightyena lowered itself so I could get on his back with the Ralts easier. Once I was on, Mightyena ran through the woods, knowing how to get back to the ranch from there. While he was running, Mightyena let lose a call that I could only guess was him informing the rest of his pack to go the house. As they sped through the woods, I hoped that the little Ralts would be ok.

**Mandy's 3rd P.O.V.**

When the Mightyena pack ran up to the front of the house, Mandy was worried that they had gotten upset by something. She quickly got off of the porch swing and walked up to the lead Mightyena, though she could tell that he was not the alpha. She then knelt and asked, "What's wrong Mightyena? Did something happen to Lizzie?"

The Mightyena that she was talking to shook his head and then the pack lied in front of the house. Mandy was guessing that the leader had told them to come here, but the question now was why he would do that. He normally kept the pack in the farther pastures from the house. Her question was soon answered when she saw a very dusty Mightyena with a few bunches of grass in its fur run out of the woods with an equally dusty and grass stained Lizzie. Mandy waited for Mightyena to stop and as soon as he did, she ran up to Lizzie, who was getting off, and asked, "Lizzie, what happened?"

Lizzie turned to Mandy and said, "Mommy, this Ralts needs help." There was worry in her emerald green eyes.

It was then that Mandy finally looked at what her daughter was holding in her arms and was shocked to see the injured Ralts. Mandy nodded and said, "I should be able to sweetie, but I am going to need you to bring it inside."

Lizzie nodded and Mandy ran ahead inside to, what Lizzie affectionately called the pokémon checkup room, and got everything ready. The Ralts' condition had shocked her. In all of her years of taking care of pokémon, she had seen very few pokémon injured this bad. Lizzie walked in and set the nervous Ralts on the table. Mandy then motioned for Lizzie to leave the room. Before she left though, Lizzie whispered loudly, "Don't worry Ralts, my mommy will make you feel all better." She then left the room. Mandy then started her work on the Ralts.

**Lizzie's 1st P.O.V.**

When I woke up, I saw that I was in my pjs and that I was lying in her bed. At first I wondered how I got in my bed until it all came back to me. Finding the injured Ralts yesterday. Quickly getting into my play clothes and running downstairs, I tried to find mommy. When I smelled food in the kitchen, I knew my mommy was in there cooking breakfast. Once I arrived at the kitchen, I opened the door and quickly sat at the table. Mommy turned to me with a pan of scrambled eggs before she said, "I know what you are thinking and you need to eat before you see Ralts."

I knew that mom was serious so I quickly sat down and waited for mom to sit down so we could eat. Before mommy sat down though, she turned to me and said, "Something happened last night."

"What mommy?" I asked. But, I didn't get answered in the way I thought I would. I jumped as I suddenly felt fingers start to tickle me. After the fingers stopped, I turned and squealed when I saw my daddy standing there. I quickly got out of my seat and gave my daddy a giant hug. "Daddy you're home! I thought you weren't going to be home 'till next week?"

Daddy laughed at that and said, "Well, the dragon man decided to come back from his vacation sooner. I got in last night. Now, let's eat. I haven't had any good cooking since I left."

The three of us laughed at that and we quickly ate their breakfast. As soon as we were all done, my daddy turned to me and said, "So, let's go see how the Ralts is doing."

I nodded and quickly left the table before running to my mommy's pokémon recovery room. When I got there, I saw that the Ralts was sitting up and looking around. Smiling, I walked up to the edge of the bed that the Ralts was sitting on. When the Ralts saw me, it smiled, which caused my own smile to grow, and motioned that it was okay for me to sit up there with it. I nodded and, with daddy's help, I got up and sat next to the Ralts. It looked a lot happier. "How are you feeling Ralts?" I asked it.

The Ralts smiled and gave me a giant hug in response so I figured that meant that it was feeling a lot better. Ralts then pointed to my dad and had a curious look on its face and so I answered the question, "That's my daddy and you met my mommy."

Ralts then waved at my daddy and daddy smiled at it and said, "Hello there Ralts. You had a tough time didn't you? You are a pretty lucky little guy that my little girl found you."

Nodding, the Ralts hugged me in gratitude again. I smiled and asked, "Hey Ralts," Ralts looked at me questioningly and I asked, "Do you want to be my friend?"

After seeming to think about that for a second, Ralts nodded enthusiastically and smiled at me. I smiled and said, "Awesome! Does that mean that you would like to be my pokémon?"

This time the Ralts did not hesitate and nodded enthusiastically. When I looked up at mommy and daddy, they were both smiling and daddy said, "Well, it seems that you have your first pokémon Lizzie, and a strong looking one at that." I smiled and started to tell Ralts all the adventures that we were going to have. From that day on, the two of us were the best of friends.

* * *

**Authoress: Yeah! That was fun!**

**Lizzie: You bet it was. Now, let's let me grow up some so we can have some more fun.**

**Ralts: _Like that is going to help your patience._**

**Authoress: Who are you talking about?**

**Ralts: _Both of you._**

* * *

**AN: And here is the prologue to this story. I haven't written for Pokemon much and, what I did, I didn't get to far in it. I don't get shipping and I don't plan on any romance for this story. But, more stories might follow this one (once I finish it) and so don't count romance completely out for Lizzie. This will mainly follow the game-play with some changes to match with the show. I have chapters one and two to put up today so you will see them. But, after that, you will have to wait until I get chapter three rolling. Until then, please drop a review, even to say hi! XD**


	2. The Journey Begins

**AN: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Lizzie: So, am I grown up yet.**

**Authoress: Of course you are. We need to get you on your adventure.**

**Ralts: _Finally, I can stop hearing her ask that.__ She's been asking that for five years._**

**Lizzie: *smiles widely***

* * *

Ch. 1: The Journey Begins

"_Lizzie. Lizzie get up."_ I groaned as the familiar male voice shot through the dark of my sleep.

Burying my face deeper into my pillow as the lights came on, I grumbled, "Five more minutes."

At first, it was quiet and I thought that I was going to be able to go back to sleep. I had a big day tomorrow and I didn't want to get up so early. I was finally going to be starting my pokemon journey. "_Fine, if you want to be late in getting your starter pokemon from Professor Birch, then by all means sleep the day away."_

I bolted up out of my bed when the voice said that and I glanced around until I glanced out of the window, the sun already starting to come up. "I'm going to be late!" I yelped as I quickly ran to get ready. After showering, I got into my favorite black shirt with lime green stripes, faded blue jeans that had a black belt with lime green loops and hold spots for my poke balls, and lime green tennis shoes with two black stripes going across the top. After I pulled my long golden brown hair into its usual ponytail, I put on the black and lime green watch that my parents had given me for my ninth birthday.

"_You ready yet?" _Ralts asked me, the voice that had woke me up.

See, after I had met Ralts, both he and the Mightyena around the ranch had taught me to understand the pokemon language. They said that it would help me out while I was on my journey and I wasn't going to question them. While the lessons were difficult, I had finally gotten it down when I turned seven. Now, I helped around the farm, asking the pokemon if there were any problems and helping them fix it. It helped that I didn't have to guess at what they were saying.

Nodding, I said, "Let's get downstairs." I then picked up Ralts and ran down the stairs. I couldn't be late today. I wanted to have my pick out of all three starters instead of fate choosing. It was an important decision and I wasn't going to let chance get its hands in my choice."I am so sorry! I slept-in thinking about today! I'm not late, am I?"

Mom laughed at my panic and said, "No dear, but I sent Ralts up so you wouldn't be late. Now," She then motioned to my bag, which was laying on the table, before saying, "I prepared your go bag for you. You have all of the basic essentials that you will need. Potions, berries, basic human food, poke food, an extra set of clothes, money, a badge case, and a map of the region just in case you get lost."

I smiled at mom and said, "Thanks mom. You too Ralts." When I glanced around, I was surprised that I didn't see dad. Did he have to go off to work again? He had just gotten back from covering for Sidney a few days ago. "Where's dad?"

Almost as soon as I asked that, though, dad came out of the kitchen. In his hands, I saw the most beautiful thing; one of his packed lunch bags. He was the cook of the family. Mom was best at baking and, sometimes, breakfast. But, dad was the actual chef and, when he was home, he did the cooking. "We figured that you would need something to eat on the way. And I also made a little thing for you too Ralts." He answered me as he handed me the bag that had mine and Ralt's snacks in it. I couldn't wait to eat them but, at the same time, I couldn't wait to get to the lab to meet my starter.

"Well, how do you feel about going off on your own?" Mom asked me.

I smiled at her and said, "I can't wait to start!"

Dad and mom both laughed at me before dad said, "Ok then dear, but before we send you off, we have one last thing to get you."

Wait...what? I watched as he brought out a medium small present that was wrapped with lime green paper and had a black bow on top. They had gotten me a going away present! Smiling like an idiot, I took the box from dad and ripped the paper off. I could feel the excitement as it flowed through me. I loved getting gifts, no matter how small, and I treasured each one. It had turned me into an unofficial hoarder but I didn't mind.

"Wow this is awesome!" I exclaimed as I saw what was in the package. Nestled inside was a black hat with a lime green poke ball on the front of it. I had always dreamed about getting one but I knew that it had to be special ordered to get because the company normally didn't work with black and lime green together. Pulling my ponytail through the hole in the back and setting the hat on my head I gave mom and dad a big hug. "Well, we had better head off to Professor Birch's so we won't be late. I love you guys."

The two of them returned my hug and mom said, "Good luck dear and be careful. We love you too."

I smiled and took them in one more time before picking up Ralts, who had just put a poffin in his mouth and was hanging onto another one like his life depended on it, running out of the door. I was now officially starting my very own adventure. So many new experiences were just waiting for me to get to them and I couldn't wait.

"_I could use some air!" _Ralts gasped out and it was only then that I realized that I was squeezing him in my excitement.

Releasing the pressure that I had put on him, I smiled apologetically before saying, "Sorry Ralts. I'm just so excited to meet our new friend. I can't wait!" I then jumped in a circle before continuing to jog down the path to the lab. If I jogged the whole way, which I probably wouldn't, then the trip to the professors was about five minutes. Not too bad. Walking put it at around ten minutes. Since I would be doing both, I figured that I would get there in about seven.

Ralts nodded his head before saying, "_I'm excited too. I'll finally have someone around that can help me watch you."_

"Very funny Ralts." I muttered before continuing to walk down the path, which now had trees on both sides.

"_So, you know what starter you are going to choose?_" Ralts asked.

I shook my head and answered my best friend. "I am going to wait until we get there and then both of us will pick out one." I didn't want to have a set starter in mind. I wanted to see what each one acted like when I met them.

"_Wait, why am I helping you choose?"_ Ralts questioned me further.

Letting out a laugh, I said, "Because you are my best friend and you are going to have to travel with whoever I choose and so I figured that you would want some say in it."

He nodded and said, "_I guess you are right about that. I really don't want to travel with someone who doesn't like either one of us. Or one that has a bad personality."_

Raising an eyebrow at Ralts, I now had the question. "What would you do if they all had the bad personalities?"

He seemed to think about that for a moment before saying, "_I guess that we would take the one that didn't show them as much as the others."_

The two of us then walked forward in silence. It was a nice silence and I really didn't want this moment to end. It was like a beautiful clip from a movie. Well, it all ended when I glanced down at my watch to check the time and I had a panic attack. "Uh-oh Ralts, we're going to be late!" I yelped out before sprinting forward.

The run to the professor's lab took half the time that it normally did with me sprinting to get there before the others who were choosing. Besides myself, there were two boys that were going to be choosing their starter pokemon today. Thankfully, when I ran through the doors of the lab, I mentally sighed in relief when I saw that Professor Birch was the only one in the room, and he was standing by a table that had three pokeballs resting on it.

"Ah, Lizzie. Seems you ran a marathon to get here on time." The prof joked.

Once I got my breath, I smiled and said, "I didn't want to be late Professor.

He nodded. "Yes, I can understand that given that today is your big day. Seeing as how the boys are not here yet, how about we start you on your process. Are you ready to choose your first pokemon?"

I knew that I need to correct him on that and so I responded, "Technically my second pokemon professor. I already have Ralts."

Professor Birch must have just realized that I was holding Ralts because surprise filled his face before he said, "Sorry little guy, didn't see you there. Yes, your second pokemon and your official starter."

Smiling, I nodded before I asked, "So, who do we have to choose from?"

"We?" Professor Birch asked me right back.

I let out a small laugh before saying, "Yes we. Ralts and I are both going to choose. He is my best friend after all." I then grew thoughtful at that as I remembered a promise that I had made to Ralts. "Hey Professor, I know that you usually give five poke balls to a new trainer when they choose their starter, but I was wondering if I could get mine before I choose."

"Why?" The Professor asked. He seemed to be in a questioning mood. Of course, my case was a little confusing.

"Because I haven't technically 'caught' Ralts and we both decided that, when I was ten but before we chose my first pokemon, I would officially catch him. So, can I?" I explained to the professor before giving him my best baby Poochyena eyes. They made mom melt all the time so they should work on the professor.

Professor Birch seemed to think about that before he let out a laugh and said, "I normally wouldn't let you but, since you are so close to your Ralts, I'll let you. But, you can't get anything else until after you pick your starter." He then smiled. "I have to have some fun. Deal?"

I nodded. "Deal. Professor Birch then gave me five empty poke balls. While I placed four of them in my bag so I could have easy access to them, I placed Ralts on the table next to the pokeballs that held my future partner before activating the fifth. "You sure you want to travel with me Ralts?" I had to make sure.

Of course, Ralts glanced at me like I was insane before he slapped the poke ball with his hand and, in a flash of red light, he was drawn into the poke ball. After a few wiggles, the ball sealed and Ralts was officially captured. I was so happy. Ralts was now, officially, my first pokemon. Putting a large grin on my face, I threw the ball into the air before saying, "Come on out and help Ralts!"

In a flash of red light, Ralts came out of his poke ball and gave me a small hug, a smile plastered on his face, and I knew that he was happy. Picking him up, I turned back to the professor before saying, "Okay, so can we pick our starter now?"

"Yes," Professor Birch started. "now you have a choice between three pokemon. The first is the grass type Treecko." The professor then activated the ball on the far left and released the green grass pokemon. "Then we have the fire type Torchic." He then activated the middle ball and released the orange chick pokemon. "And finally we have the water type Mudkip." He finally activated the last ball and out came the blue pokemon that my dad had started with came out.

"Are you ready?" I asked Ralts.

He nodded in response and said, "_Yep, let's see who our new friend is going to be."_

I waved at the three starters and knelt down to their level. The Mudkip made no move to come up to me and I was sure that it was glaring. Definitely not that one. The Treecko, while it did walk up to me, looked like it was distracted by something else. But, the Torchic, well...I saw it for maybe three seconds before it tackled me to the ground. "Ow, that hurt." I mumbled as I sat up, the Torchic in my lap.

"_Hey, you okay?"_ The Torchic asked in a female voice.

"_You know she can't understand us, right?"_ The Treecko asked. He didn't sound rude but it was like this Torchic had asked this question before.

The Mudkip let out a snort and said, "_Of course Torchic doesn't. She's so flighty that she can't remember to eat her breakfast."_

It took all of my willpower to not glare at the Mudkip. Of course, just because I couldn't answer, that didn't mean that Ralts couldn't answer. "_Hey, that wasn't very nice!"_

In response, Mudkip stuck its tongue out at Ralts.

Shaking my helm, I looked at Professor Birch before saying, "Could you please put the pokemon back into their pokeballs while we decide?

The professor nodded and, as the professor returned each one, I heard Torchic mutter, "_I hope she picks me."_ before she disappeared into her poke ball.

Setting Ralts on the table next to me, I asked, "So, what do you think of them Ralts?

Ralts was quick to answer. "_If you pick that Mudkip, I will never forgive you. He was a bully."_

I raised an eyebrow at that and said, "You honestly think that I would pick him? No, I could tell he was a bully. It was a good thing that he didn't know that I could understand you guys."

"You can understand what pokemon are saying?" Professor Birch asked me in shock.

Refusing to laugh at his shocked look, I nodded and said. "Yeah. When I was little, Ralts and one of the Mightyena that stayed on the ranch taught me. They thought it would be important when I started my journey."

While I ignored his continued shocked stare, I turned to Ralts. "What about the other two? They seemed nice enough."

Ralts nodded and had a thinking look before saying, "_While they were both nice, Torchic seemed like she was the only one who really wanted to come with you. I think you should go with Torchic."_

"I think you're right Ralts." I agreed before I glanced up at the professor.

He finally got over his shock and asked, "So, have you two decided who is going to travel with you?"

Nodding, I walked over to the pokeballs and picked up Torchic's before saying, "We choose Torchic." Then, I tossed the poke ball into the air and said, "Come on out Torchic!"

In a flash of light, Torchic came out of its poke ball, standing on the table by Ralts, and stood in a daze before it looked up at me and chirped in excitement. "_Yeah! You picked me!"_ She then started to run around the table in circles.

"You bet I did." I stated with a laugh.

My response caused Torchic to grind to a halt and she stared at me in shock before saying, "_You can understand me?"_

Beaming a smile, I nodded before saying, "Yep. Ralts and another friend taught me when I was little."

Torchic smiled and said, "_I'm so happy to be traveling with you!"_

I smiled and was about to say something when the doors opened. When I turned to the doors, I smiled when I saw Brendan Birch walk in, standing at five foot eight. He was nice and the two of us were friends. He would come to the ranch at times when he wanted to hang out and the two of us would help mom and dad with the pokemon on the ranch.

My smile, however, fell when the next boy walked in. Troy Galloway. He was a bully and he would try and pick on me whenever he could. The Red haired, brown eyed boy stood at five foot five, just shorter than my five foot seven self. I was tall for my age but I knew that Troy was going to grow taller, and I was dreading that day.

"Good morning professor." They both stated. When the two of them grew closer, I smiled and nodded toward Brendan. I was not going to acknowledge Troy if I could help it.

"Shrimp." Troy whispered to me as he passed.

I silently growled to myself and glared at Troy as Professor Birch addressed them. "Good morning boys. You're a little late. Since Lizzie was here first, she has already picked out her first pokemon. Brendan, since you were here second, you get to choose next.

Brendan nodded and waited until the professor brought out Treecko and Mudkip. From when Brendan and I talked, I knew who he wanted. "I already know who I want." Brendan stated before walking forward. He then picked up the Treecko before saying, "I choose Treecko."

I smiled as Treecko and Brendan smiled at each other. They were a perfect match. I was now really glad that I had chosen Torchic. The two of us were perfect for each other just like Brendan and Treecko were perfect for each other.

I returned my attention to the professor as he picked up Mudkip's poke ball and held it out to Troy. "All that I have left is Mudkip. Is that okay?"

Troy nodded in response. "I wanted Mudkip anyway. Surprised Lizzie didn't take it, since her dad started with one."

I glared at Troy in irritation. I already knew that we were rivals, and we were not the nice rivals. That was never going to change. Hopefully, I wouldn't see a lot of him while I was on the road. The less I saw of him, the better.

"Okay then," Birch started, "Brendan and Troy, here are five poke balls. I have already given Lizzie hers, and here is a pokedex for each of you that you can fill on your journey. I hope you three meet many new pokemon and have exciting adventures. The world of pokemon is a vast place and I am sure that you three will find adventure wherever you go."

I nodded at the professor and smiled before saying, "Thanks professor!" I then picked up Torchic and Ralts before running out of the building. I couldn't wait. I was now on my own adventure and I knew that this was the beginning of an amazing journey, and an amazing friendship.

"_So, where are we going?"_ Torchic asked.

I smiled and said, "Well, I was hoping that we could go and battle at a gym. The closest one to here is Petalburg and so I figured we could head there."

"_Sounds like a plan Lizzie."_ Ralts smiled.

I laughed at that and returned the two of them to their poke balls before running down the hill. Next stop; the Petalburg Gym.

* * *

**Authoress: Glad you could join us Torchic.**

**Torchic:_ I'm so excited to be here! I finally have a trainer!_**

**Ralts: _Well, with Lizzie, be prepared for sudden food shortages. She tends to forget some things._**

**Lizzie: I do not!**

**Ralts:_ Do too._**

**Lizzie: Do not!**

**Ralts: _Do too!_**

**Authoress: Do I have to put you both in time out?**

**Torchic: _*laughs*_**

* * *

**AN: And here is the first chapter. Brendan looks like the starter from Emerald (clothing especially, otherwise he would look like a clone of Bruce XD ). Anyways, as you can probably tell, Troy will be the main rival for Lizzie and, next chapter, he will have some more dialogue. Well, since I have nothing new to report, I guess I'll say TTYL for now and ask you to drop a review, even to say hi! =)**


	3. A Spot of Training

**AN: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

**Authoress: Well, this looks like fun. You all get some training in.**

**Ralts: _Finally. five years and all we get is play dates!_**

**Lizzie: So, you didn't like those play dates?**

**Ralts:_...Well, of course I did._**

**Torchic: _Well, I'm just happy to be trained now. Mudkip was always a stick in the mud and Treecko was usually playing in the woods._**

* * *

Ch. 2: A Spot of Training

After we had left Littleroot, Torchic, Ralts, and I had continued to travel until we had made it to Odale town. While we had wanted to go further, we hadn't realized how late it was nor how tired we were until we got to pokemon center to rest up. So, we had stayed the night at the pokemon center, thanks to the generosity of Nurse Joy. She was such a nice lady. Hopefully, I would be able to repay the favor one day.

It was early dawn now, the sun barely peaking up from the horizon, and the three of us were walking down Route 102, trying to see all we could. I had bought ten more poke balls and about ten potions from the poke mart before we left and so I knew that we were ready for whatever we found here.

Plus, I really wanted to get to Petalburg to see if I could fight the gym leader. I hadn't had a trainer battle yet and I was really excited to have one, especially against a gym leader. From all of the news reports I had watched and from I had heard, they were some of the strongest trainers out there and I would love to try and fight one of them, just to see how we stacked up.

"_So, what's your plan?"_ Ralts asked me as we walked forward.

Smiling, I crossed my arms behind my head and said, "We are going to go challenge the Petalburg Gym leader and then, when we win, we will head to the next gym."

"_Don't we need to get some training in first?"_ Torchic asked me, confusion in her voice.

And I face palmed. "Crap! I totally forgot about training. I am such an airhead."

Ralts chuckled at that and said, "_Well, that's not news to me."_

I frowned at him and stopped walking before I sat down and said, "Alright then mister smarty, you get to start. What moves do you know?"

He smirked back at me and said, "_I know confusion, double team, and growl."_

Nodding, I turned to Torchic. "And what about you Torchic?"

"_I know scratch, growl, and protect."_ She answered.

Ralts and I stared at her in shock. While scratch and growl were perfectly normal moves for a starter pokemon, protect was anything but. Usually, a trainer would have to work with their starter before they learned a new move like that. "How do you know protect?" I asked her in shock.

She smiled sheepishly before saying, "_Well, while the professor was training the three of us to the normal level, I saw one of his pokemon use the move and I really wanted to learn it. So, I trained in secret until I finally learned it."_

In return, I smiled widely before saying, "That's awesome Torchic! Well, after we find Ralts an opponent, you can take a turn and we can start learning how to battle together."

Both of them nodded and so I stood up and led them forward. I wonder what sort of pokemon we were going to meet? There were so many out in the world that the possibilities were endless.

A rustling in the tall grass next to us had me pausing and tensing. This looked like it might be a pokemon. It was going to be a lot of fun if we could battle it.

Soon, a brown pokemon that looked like a seed came out and stared at us. "Oh cool, it's a Seedot!" I exclaimed in excitement before taking out my pokedex and holding it out toward the Seedot.

"Seedot, the Acorn Pokemon. It hangs off branches and absorbs nutrients. When it finishes eating, its body becomes so heavy that it drops to the ground with a thump." My pokedex stated as the entry for Seedot.

Smiling, I said, "Alright Ralts, let's give Seedot a good battle."

Ralts nodded and stepped forward, catching the Seedot's attention. The Seedot seemed to stare at us for a second before it realized that we wanted to battle. "_Let's have some fun!"_ The Seedot said.

I nodded and then started the battle. "Ralts, use confusion on Seedot!"

Ralts nodded and, soon, Seedot was being thrown all over the place, random directions that were making me look confused. Once Ralts slammed Seedot down, I watched as the pokemon stood back up and seemed to just stand there. Why wasn't it attacking?

"Ralts, use confusion again!" I yelled out.

Again, Ralts did like I said and, again, the Seedot did not charge forward when it was thrown to the ground. Why wasn't it attacking? Was I missing something? I now felt nervous. This Seedot probably knew what it was doing.

When a red glow suddenly surrounded Seedot, I realized what was going on. "Ralts dodge!" I realized only then that the Seedot had been using bide, and now that it had the energy from the attacks stored up, it was going to release the power on Ralts.

Ralts jumped to the side as Seedot attacked. While Ralts wasn't hit full on, it did get sideswiped and was thrown to the side. "Ralts! Are you okay?" I yelled out to Ralts from where I was standing.

Once Ralts was back on his feet, he nodded and I knew that he was waiting for an attack order from me. "Okay then Ralts, use double team!"

Soon, copies of Ralts were surrounding the Seedot and the Seedot was looking very confused. Once the Seedot looked really confused, I said, "Alright Ralts, let's finish this with one last confusion!"

Ralts nodded and said, "_You got it!"_ Before he again used his confusion on the Seedot. Seedot was too confused to dodge and, after Ralts tossed him to the ground, I saw that Seedot was unable to battle. Since it had been nice enough to battle with us, I figured that I could help it recover from the battle.

Slowly approaching the waking Seedot, I knelt to the ground about an arm's length away before saying, "Hey Seedot, can I come closer to heal you? I am very grateful that you agreed to battle with us."

The Seedot, who was now standing, stared at me nervously before saying, "_You want to heal me?"_

Nodding, I said, "You bet. It's only fair. You didn't have to battle us but you did. So, the least I can do is heal you."

"_You can understand me?"_ Seedot asked, his voice full of shock.

I laughed as I again nodded. "Yeah, Ralts and another friend of mine taught me when I was little. So, can I heal you?" The Seedot nodded and walked over to me before cautiously sitting in front of me. While it did, I reached into my bag and took out my potion. "This might sting a little." I warned Seedot before spritzing him with a few squirts of the potion.

Potions worked really quickly and, soon, Seedot looked as good as new. "_Thank you so much!"_ It then ran back into the grass.

Smiling at that, I stood up and glanced at Torchic before saying, "I guess it is your turn Torchic. Let's see if we can find someone else who will fight you."

Torchic nodded and walked so she was on my right, with Ralts on my left, and we started to look for another pokemon that might allow Torchic to fight it. Hopefully, it would go as smoothly as Ralt's battle did. If it didn't...well...that would be quite the adventure.

Movement from a new patch of grass caused me to stop, Torchic and Ralts stopping next to me, and I stayed tense until I wanted the Zigzagoon walk out, walking in its normally zig zag pattern. "Awesome! It's a Zigzagoon!" I then took out my pokedex for the second time that day. While I knew what a Zigzagoon was, I figured that I should enter it in the pokedex. "Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokemon. Rubbing its nose against the ground, it always wanders about back and forth in search of something. It is distinguished by the zigzag footprints it leaves."

Putting away my pokedex, I smiled and called out to the Zigzagoon. "Hey Zigzagoon, can we battle with you?"

The Zigzagoon looked startled that I called out to it but stopped and said, "_I don't know, you look strong."_

Aw, that was a nice complement. Thankfully, Torchic had me covered. "_Don't worry. We will stop whenever you want us too. My trainer is really nice and will stop when you want to. I promise."_

That made the Zigzagoon seem a little more confident and he nodded before saying, "_Alright then."_

Smiling, I motioned Torchic forward. "Torchic, I choose you!"

Torchic nodded confidently and walked forward before standing in front of Zigzagoon. This time, Zigzagoon started the fight with a tackle attack. "Dodge Torchic!" I called out.

But, Zigzagoon's moving must have been just as confusing to Torchic as it was to me and, when she tried to dodge, she ended up right in front of Zigzagoon as he tackled her.

Knockout that I had to act fast, I said, "Torchic, counter that with scratch!"

Thankfully, Torchic had quick reflexes and was easily able to scratch out at Zigzagoon, sending it flying back. Zigzagoon got back up quickly though and, to my surprise, dug underneath the ground. "_He knows dig!" _Torchic exclaimed in shock.

I was shocked too and, since I knew how much dig could hurt Torchic, I yelled out, "Torchic use protect now!"

Torchic quickly did and it was just in time. As soon as she put up her barrier, the Zigzagoon came up out of the ground and bounced off of it before sliding back to to the rebound of the blow and ended up falling in a puddle of mud. "_Enough! I'm done." _Zigzagoon called out. Guess our scratch attack had done more than I though.

Nodding, I sat on the ground, Torchic coming next to me, before saying, "Alright. Like Torchic said, when you are done, I will stop too. Now, would you like to come over here so I can help you clean off and heal you?"

Just like the Seedot, Zigzagoon stared at me in shock before saying, "_You can understand me?_"

I nodded and said, "Yep. Now, want to come get your fur washed off? I'm sure it will be better to get that mud off before it dries."

The Zigzagoon looked at himself before nodding and slowly walked over. "_Thank you."_ He said as he sat down in front of me and I took out a cloth and a water bottle from my bag. Getting the cloth wet, I gently picked up Zigzagoon before cleaning it off. I figured that it probably felt nice to get cleaned off after a fight. I doubted many trainers did that.

Once I was done cleaning, I took out the potion that was open and spritzed a little on Zigzagoon before setting him down and saying, "All better now." I then turned to Ralts and Torchic and said, "Come on you two. You need to get cleaned up and healed as well."

The two of them then came and sat on my lap and I cleaned them off before giving them each a spritz of potion, effectively using up all of the potion from that bottle. Once they were sat on the ground, I returned my attention to Zigzagoon before saying, "We have to get going now. Thank you again for allowing us to battle you."

"_You're welcome!"_ Zigzagoon called out before it ran back into the grass.

Standing to my feet, I smiled and said, "Good job you two. How about getting some rest in your pokeballs?"

They both nodded and so I returned them before placing the balls on my belt and making my way across the route. Hopefully, I would be able to reach Petalburg by nightfall so I could challenge the gym tomorrow. But, I knew that might not happen so I wanted to get as close to the city as possible.

A splash from the pond next to me had me turning to see a Goldeen as it jumped out before it went back underneath the waves. That made me think about the gym leaders. While the Petalburg gym was a normal type gym, I knew that the Rustboro gym was going to give me some trouble since it was a rock type gym and, while Ralts would be able to last for a while, I knew that Torchic would be put at a serious disadvantage.

"Hey Lizzie!"

I turned at the familiar voice and smiled when I saw Brendan run up to me. He looked like he was out of breath, like he was trying to catch up to me.

"Hey Brendan! Why are you so out of breath?" I was really curious about this and, hopefully, he would give me an answer.

After he took a second to catch his breath, Brendan said, "I have been trying to catch you since yesterday. When I got to the pokemon center, Nurse Joy said that you had left early this morning and I could catch you if I hurried. So, I did. Dad wanted you to know that you could call him from the pokemon centers if you ever needed any help."

"And you ran all that way just to tell me that?" I asked, surprised.

He smiled sheepishly before saying, "No. I also wanted to see how you were doing. Have you caught any new pokemon?"

Shaking my head, I said, "None that I didn't leave your dad's lab with. But, I have had battles with a Seedot and a Zigzagoon. What about you?"

He smiled when I asked him and took out his poke ball before saying, "Treecko, come on out!" I smiled as Treecko joined us.

"So, pretty much the same as me." I said before I took out my two poke balls and said, "Ralts, Torchic; come on out and say hi!" I then tossed them into the air before my two pokemon came out and stood in front of me.

"_Hey Treecko!"_ Torchic and Ralts greeted.

Treecko smiled and said, "_Hi."_

I smiled at this interaction and, when I looked up at Brendan, I saw that he was smiling. "You know, you're technically ahead of me since you have Ralts."

"Yeah, but Ralts and I have been together since forever Brendan. You know that." I laughed and I was about to say something when, to my extreme embarrassment, my stomach rumbled.

Brendan, of course, thought this was hilarious and burst out laughing. "Wow, I never thought I would see the day that Lizzie Val would be so excited that she forgot to eat."

Embarrassment crept into my face before I said, "Alright, let's just eat then. Want to join us?"

He shrugged and said, "Sounds like a plan. After I'm done here, though, I'm heading back to route 103 to see if I can find any pokemon I missed."

I nodded and so the two of us spread out a blanket and got out some sandwiches, after we got our pokemon their food of course, and we started to have a quick picnic. While we were eating, I asked, "So, are you planning on challenging the gyms?"

"Yeah," he started, "but I want to take my time and investigate as many pokemon as I can." Brendan then motioned to me before saying, "I'm guessing that you are going to be heading to Petalburg to challenge Grayson?"

Nodding, I finished off my sandwich before saying, "You bet. We are going to become the best team and no one will be able to stop us!"

He let out a laugh and helped me clean up while saying, "I don't have a single doubt that you will be able to accomplish that Lizzie. Just keep in touch, will you?"

"You got it." I said as we finished packing up. Putting my bag back on my shoulder, I returned Torchic and Ralts to their poke balls while saying, "Thanks for coming by Brendan."

Brendan returned Treecko to his poke ball before nodding and saying, "It was nothing. And good luck out there Lizzie." He then walked back toward Odale town.

"You too Brendan!" I called after him as he disappeared. Once he was gone, I sighed and walked forward. I hadn't planned on taking that lunch break and knew that I had to hurry if I was going to get to Petalburg before dark.

After about an hour of walking, I sighed and sat on a nearby stone. All of this walking was tiring and I wanted to take a break. Taking out Ralt's and Torchic's poke balls, I was about to let them out when a familiar, and unwelcome, voice interrupted me. "Well, I didn't expect to run into you shrimp."

I growled as I stood up and faced Troy. "I'm surprised as well Troy. I thought you would still be back in Littleroot."

He laughed at me and said, "I was walking by and, when I saw you just sitting there, I had to see how terrible you were at battle." He then took out two poke balls. That meant that he had caught a pokemon from around here. "What do you say Lizzie? Battle with two pokemon?"

Growling at him, I nodded and said, "You're on Troy."

Smirking at me, he activated his first poke ball and threw it into the air before saying, "Come out and show the shrimp how powerful you are Zigzagoon!"

So, he had caught a Zigzagoon. Well, that was just fine and dandy. I knew what to do. "Torchic, come on out and help me!" Soon, Torchic was out of her poke ball and was staring at the Zigzagoon in front of her.

"_I'm ready Lizzie."_ Torchic stated as she got battle ready.

Smiling, I said, "Then let's get this party started. Torchic, use scratch on Zigzagoon."

Torchic ran forward but Troy must have seen that coming, "Zigzagoon, dodge and then use tackle."

I growled when Zigzagoon was able to dodge and tackle Torchic. "Quickly Torchic, counter that with scratch!" Torchic, like the trooper she seemed to be, quickly got up and did just like I asked. The Zigzagoon seemed surprised by her counter and wasn't ready for Torchic to scratch at him. It looked like it might have even been a critical hit, seeing how it was now panting.

"Argh, come on Zigzagoon! Use tackle now!" Troy yelled.

"Dodge it!" I yelled out.

But, like last time, Torchic couldn't dodge it and was slammed across the battle field. "_Take that!"_ The Zigzagoon yelled out.

Great, this Zigzagoon was just like Troy. How did he end up finding pokemon just like himself? I would never believe that there were many pokemon like that out there, yet Troy was able to find one. "Torchic, use growl!"

Torchic growled at the Zigzagoon and Zigzagoon actually backed up slightly. Guess she didn't like him as much as I didn't like Troy. "Don't take that Zigzagoon. Use tackle!"

"Dodge it and keep using scratch!" I countered. A smile played across my face as Torchic was able to dodge the tackle and landed a good number of scratch attacks. It didn't take long for Torchic to back up as Zigzagoon fainted. "Great job Torchic!" I exclaimed to my pokemon.

Torchic ran up to me and nuzzled my leg before saying, "_I won Lizzie!"_

Nodding, I scratched the top of her head in congratulations before Troy said, "You got lucky Lizzie. But, let's see how you deal with Mudkip!" He then threw his final poke ball and Mudkip came out.

"Can you still fight Torchic?"

Torchic nodded and said, "_Sure can Lizzie." _

Nodding confidently, I waited for Torchic to go onto the field before saying, "You're going to lose Troy!"

He smirked back at me and said, "We'll see shrimp." He then pointed toward us while saying, "Mudkip use tackle now!"

Mudkip nodded and charged at us. He was so quick that I couldn't get the order to dodge out in time and Mudkip rammed into Torchic. When Torchic yelled out in pain, I felt my heart freeze. "Torchic, are you okay?" I yelled out.

It took Torchic a moment to get off of the ground but, once it did, it nodded toward me. "_It's time."_

I nodded back at Torchic and braced myself. WE had to pull this off just right. Otherwise, Troy would see it coming from a mile away.

"Mudkip use tackle again!" Troy yelled out.

As Mudkip ran forward, I waited. I had to be patient if I wanted this to work to its maximum potential. We had to wait until the last possible moment to do this. Once Mudkip was close to striking distance, I knew that time had come.

"Torchic, protect now!"

Troy's eyes widened as the barrier surrounded Torchic just as Mudkip was launching at Torchic to tackle her. Mudkip slammed into the shield and went tumbling back toward Troy. I smirked. That had worked to perfection.

"_Sneaky trick."_ Mudkip grumbled as it glared at me and Torchic.

Realizing that I could still get another attack in, I said, "Torchic, run in and use scratch!"

Nodding, Torchic ran forward, ready to use the move. But, when Troy smirked, I knew that he had something planned, and it wouldn't turn out well for Torchic. "Thought you would try that. Mudkip and I did a lot of training yesterday and we have a couple new moves as well." He then motioned to Mudkip before saying, "Mudkip, use mud slap on Torchic!"

"Torchic dodge!" I yelled out with worry for my friend. But, my call came to late as the mud slap landed a direct hit on my pokemon. I flinched as Torchic went sliding against the ground and, once she stopped, she laid there for a moment, before she struggled to get up. Fire types were vulnerable to ground type attacks. Maybe I should,

"Follow it up with water gun Mudkip!" Troy called out with a smirk, and to my dismay.

I knew that Torchic needed to dodge that. "Torchic dodge it!"

Torchic tried to get up and move but, just as she stood up, the water gun slammed into her and sent her flying back. When she landed in front of me, I sighed as I saw that she had fainted. "You did an awesome job Torchic. I'll heal you up once we win this."

Once I returned Torchic to her poke ball, I went and grabbed Ralts' poke ball. But, before I activated it, Troy said, "Why don't you give up now shrimp? I've obviously done more training than you and so I am going to win. If you give up now, your Ralts won't have to lose like Torchic just did." He smirked at the end of that, like he knew what my answer was going to be.

But, I had another thing coming to him. "Not in your wildest dreams Troy." Then, I activated Ralts' poke ball before saying, "We won't give up, no matter what the odds are. Ralts, come on out and help me!"

A flash of light from the thrown poke ball later, Ralts was standing in front of me, battle ready. "_Let's show this bully why he shouldn't mess with us Lizzie."_

I smirked and nodded before saying, "You got it." Then, pointing forward, I said, "Ralts, use growl!" Nodding, Ralts started the battle off with a growl. I smirked as it worked. Perfect. This would be a lot of fun.

Troy, of course, was going to take that sitting down. "Mudkip, use water gun," Then, however, he said something that surprised me, "on the field."

As Mudkip listened to him, I realized that he was making the field slick so it would be hard for Ralts to dodge his attacks. Thankfully, I knew that we could do anything if we set our minds to it. "Ralts, use double team and surround Mudkip."

Ralts did so and, soon, Mudkip was surrounded. I was really loving this move now. "Mudkip use water gun on Ralts!"

As Mudkip did so, I knew I had to act fast. "Ralts, dodge when it gets to you and keep dodging!"

Thankfully, Ralts did and, when he dodged, Ralts started to run in different directions so Mudkip couldn't get a lock on him. "Mudkip, chase Ralts and keep using water gun!" Troy called after Mudkip.

And so the two began their battle version of tag. Of course, Ralts was winning but I knew it wouldn't last long. Ralts was running through mud and Mudkip could move through the substance so much faster than Ralts could. "_Lizzie, I need to attack soon. The mud is getting heavy." _Ralts called to me.

Nodding, I was about to give the order when Troy beat me to it. "Just like we practiced Mudkip!" Wait...what was he planning? As Ralts passed in front of me, my eyes automatically followed Ralts, about to call out a move.

Right as I was about to call out for Ralts to use confusion, though, Mudkip slid in front of me and sent up a wave of mud that covered me. I couldn't see! "_Lizzie!" _I heard Ralts yell.

That was the lowest trick that I had ever seen someone use. I mean, attacking the trainer so they couldn't see their pokemon to give orders. But, I was not going to let this stop me. "Ralts, use confusion on Mudkip!" I called out. Though I couldn't see, I could still speak and that was going to help.

"_What?"_ I heard Mudkip call out in distress. Guess the move hit. Well, served him right for doing that to me.

I smirked at that. While I was still blinded, I could just imagine the look of utter shock on Troy's face. He probably thought that I would panic and wouldn't fight back. Before I could work on clearing the mud from my eyes, though, I heard Ralts said, "_It's over. Mudkip fainted from continuous confusion attacks."_

Smiling at that, I was again about to clean the mud from my face when I heard Troy return Mudkip to his poke ball while saying, "Next time, shrimp, the results will be different." I then heard him walk away.

"_Hey Lizzie, lean on down so I can help you wipe that away."_ I heard Ralts say.

Nodding, I crouched down so Ralts could reach my face and I waited as he wiped the mud away. Once I was sure it was away enough for me to see, I opened my eyes and saw that Troy had disappeared and that Ralts and I were the only ones standing there. "That was a dirty trick. I can't believe he tried that!" I said before releasing Torchic. I knew that we had to leave quickly.

When Torchic got her bearings and looked at me, she stared at me in shock before asking, "_What happened to you Lizzie?_"

Sighing, I said, "Troy played a dirty trick during the battle and I got the blunt of it. He had Mudkip cover me in mud so I couldn't see."

"_That was so rude!"_ Torchic exclaimed in shock. "_When I see them next I'm going to cover them with mud."_

I let out a laugh at that and said, "Thanks Torchic. I'm glad you and Ralts have my back."

"_Hey trainer?" _That voice sounded familiar and I turned to see the Zigzagoon that I had trained with earlier approach me with a couple of Lotad.

"Can I help you Zigzagoon?" I asked him gently.

He shook his head and said, "_No, but we can help you. These are two of my best friends and we were watching that fight and how that Mudkip played that low trick on you. And, well, since you didn't keep fighting me when I asked you to stop and you cleaned my fur from the mud that got in it, we thought we would repay the favor. So, um, could you stand up please?"_

I smiled and stood up before saying, "Thank you."

Then, the two Lotad used water gun on me and, while it was cold, I could feel the mud slowly drift away. It felt so nice to be clean. It took them about three minutes but, once they were done, I looked and saw that there wasn't a speck of mud on me. Ringing out my clothes, I nodded toward them and said, "Thank you so much you three. I really appreciate this."

They nodded back toward me before Zigzagoon said, "_You're welcome._" Then, the three of them went back into the high grass.

Of course, I turned back to Torchic and Ralts before saying, "Well, you two had better go back in your poke balls and get some rest. Wouldn't want you two too tired to help if I get in a bind before I get to Petalburg."

They smiled at me and nodded before I returned them to their balls. Shrinking the balls down, I placed them on my belt before walking forward. The day was already over half way over and I knew that I would be cutting it close. If I didn't reach Petalburg in a couple of hours, then I would be stuck camping out here for the night.

After about an hour of walking, I found myself walking through a thick part of the woods. I wasn't too thrilled to be walking through the woods as the light started to leave the sky. I knew that I had miscalculated the time when I would lose light and, the least I wanted to accomplish was to get into a clearing so I wouldn't feel so enclosed. If I wanted to be enclosed, I would have set up a tent.

The sound of the something whooshing through the air was my only warning and I dived to the side as what looked like a shadow ball whizzed by my head. "What was that?" I yelped as I stood up and glanced around. When I saw something white in the trees, I realized that a pokemon had to be attacking me so I grabbed the first poke ball I could reach, which was Ralts', and I threw it. "Ralts I need help!"

As the poke ball left my hand, I felt a strong force lift me from the ground and slam me against a tree, holding me there. The only thing that gave me comfort was the sound of Ralts' poke ball releasing him as I was being held against the tree trunk, my feet dangling from the ground.

"_Lizzie!"_ I heard Ralts shout in shock and confusion.

But, right as he did, I heard another voice yell. "_It's impossible!"_

"_Wait! Let me go! What are you doing?" _I heard Ralts yell as I slumped to the ground. My vision was fading and I could barely see something holding Ralts up and carrying it away.

"Ralts...no." I whispered as my vision went dark and unconsciousness met me.

* * *

**Authoress: Now you see the evil that is me!**

**Lizzie: I hate cliffhangers. What happened to Ralts?**

**Authoress: *smirks* You'll find out next chapter. You are going to be reacquainted with an old friend. *walks off***

**Lizzie:...Wait, who! *runs after running Authoress***

* * *

**AN: And here is the second actual chapter! I hope you all liked this. In many of my other stories, I am quite known for doing this sort of things, these nice little cliff-hangers. But, I just can't help it. They are so much fun to do. Wonder who attacked Lizzie and took Ralts? Well, you all will find out next chapter! Until then though, please drop a review, even to say hi! XD**


End file.
